Corrosion Monitoring and Mitigation in Reinforced Concrete Structures Using Novel 3D-Printed Valves and Internet-of-Things Approach

Abstract

Reinforced concrete corrosion can be monitored by the acoustic emissions produced by transient mechanical waves of corrosion and damage events. This study aims to use 3D-printed one-way valves to relieve the corrosion-induced internal pressure on concrete structures. This valve is designed in such a way that it can be simply installed to existing structures to increase corrosion resistance in the concrete structure and extend the service life. The impressed current technique is a common technique used to rapidly corrode reinforced concrete samples. To corrode the concrete samples, current was passed through the internal steel strand and copper mesh. This study also investigated the use of an Internet-of-Things device to continuously monitor corrosion in steel-reinforced concrete samples in order to determine the effectiveness of the designed valves. Pressure testing revealed that the designed valves were against backflow and cracked at very low pressure. It was ideal that the valves cracked at a lower pressure so as to release pressure constantly while preventing further corrosion in backflow. This type of valve will prevent reinforced concrete surface cracking and extend the service life of concrete structures by releasing internal pressure build-up without allowing foreign materials to further corrode the steel reinforcement.